Generating light on landscape impacts - Campaign to Protect Rural ...

Return to contents1424. Protection afforded to the Green Belt poses a similar problem.The defining characteristic of Green Belt protection is retaining the‘openness’ of areas surrounding major towns and cities. 24 The NationalPlanning Policy Framework states that local planning authoritiesshould look to retain and enhance landscapes and that manyrenewable energy projects will comprise inappropriate developmentwithin the Green Belt. Any developments would therefore need todemonstrate ‘very special circumstances’ that clearly outweigh anyharm caused, including landscape impact. Very special circumstances,however, may include production of energy from renewable sources(see case study 3) high<strong>light</strong>ing a clear contradiction in policy objectives.Case study 3: Green BeltsLand at Hook Moor, Leeds, had permission for five wind turbinesand associated infrastructure granted on appeal in 2011 (seeAnnex 1). The local planning authority rejected the originalapplication. An appeal was subsequently dismissed because theInspector considered that the development would unacceptablyharm the openness of the Green Belt. It was considered that theapplication conflicted with advice given on protection of theGreen Belt in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 and its generalpresumption against ‘inappropriate development’. A High Courtruling, however, granted the developer a second appeal becausethe Inspector at the time gave no weight to the then recentlyrevoked Regional Spatial Strategies – a revocation which wassubsequently found to be unlawful.At the second appeal the new Inspector agreed with the previousInspector that the development constitutes inappropriatedevelopment in the Green Belt attracting ‘substantial weight’.The Inspector also agreed that the loss of openness in the areawould be ‘considerable’ because it would cause harm to thecharacter of the landscape. The Inspector, however, approved theappeal. In reaching his decision he high<strong>light</strong>ed the recent andgrowing set of national policies on renewable energy and thestrong national support for them. In the Inspector’s judgement,the new policy context justified reaching a different conclusion tothe previous Inspector because the other considerations amountedto the ‘very special circumstances’ necessary to justify thedevelopment. It is not clear how judgements of this sort can bereconciled with the very strong localist emphasis in the NationalPlanning Policy Framework.25. Locally designated areas, while not enjoying national level protection,are also particularly sensitive to inappropriate development. Theseareas are often designated because they represent a unique characterwithin a local area. CPRE recognises that the national need for morerenewable energy will sometimes outweigh local level landscapedesignations, but we are concerned that it is too often the Planning24Department for Communities and LocalGovernment, National Planning PolicyFramework, 2012<strong>Generating</strong> <strong>light</strong> on landscape impacts: How to accommodate onshore wind while protecting the countryside